A Beautiful Man
by crazyforcullen
Summary: Bella Swan will do whatever it takes to make sure that her ill father is taken care of. Dr. Edward Cullen wants nothing more than to make sure Bella's father recovers. Can the two stand each other long enough to help Charlie? AH OOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own any of these characters as they all belong to Stephanie Meyer.

If you are reading "Meant to Be," be prepared for a totally different story with a totally different take on the characters. The Bella in MTB is near and dear to my heart as there are lots of parts of that story that are real (sadly). This Bella is a bit of a stretch for me, so be nice. I am going to have to do a little research with this story, so if I get a fact wrong, please forgive me.

Also... I have no medical training. The only knowledge I have is of the minor illnesses I have gotten. I am taking some serious artistic liberties with this story, so I apologize in advance for the defiling of the medical field...

Chapter 1

_MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH MEH_

That alarm has got to be the most annoying sound known to man. As much as I wanted to roll over and hit snooze a few times, I pulled the covers back and forced myself out of bed. _Yeah, more rain, _I thought to myself as I looked out the window of my tiny little room. I guess I can't ask for too much in the way of sunshine since I live in the rainiest place in the US. I'm not complaining, mind you, Seattle is where my home is, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Being as it was only 12:00 p.m., I knew that my roommates would still be snuggled in their cozy little beds. I tiptoed into the kitchen to get my usual morning yogurt. As I sat at the table we had put in the room to separate the kitchen from the living room, I read the back of the yogurt carton for about the hundredth time. I saw a magazine that my roommate, Alice, had left on the counter. The headline caught my eye: "101 things you can do to slim down before bathing suit season" I opened to the page I was directed to and began reading. I finished reading the article and closed the magazine. _This is bullshit. I don't know why women keep reading this. Gonna have to carry my fat ass to the gym today, like it or not. _And with that, I got up from the table and tiptoed back to my own personal corner of the apartment to get dressed.

It was an unseasonably warm day for April in Seattle, so I pulled my sweater off as soon as I got out of the car. I usually dressed up a bit more for my visits with Charlie, but I had a million things I needed to do before work. Besides, I seriously doubted that Charlie would care a bit what I was wearing. I looked around at the beautifully landscaped yard. There was a perfect mixture of trees and flower beds that would calm and distract any visitor. I sat down for a few minutes at one of the many little benches that were strategically placed in the gardens . I always had to prepare myself for a few minutes before I went in to see my dad. The gardens were, without a doubt, my favorite part of Charlie's house. If I had more time, I could sit there for hours and revel in the beauty of all of the colors and textures. I made a pledge to myself to wake up a little earlier tomorrow so that I could bring my camera back. _Just a few more minutes_ I promised myself as I enjoyed the serenity of sitting in the garden.

I was still reeling from the heat as I made my way in to see my Charlie. Walking in the front door, I made a beeline straight for the stairs leading up to his room. The receptionists at the front desk all knew me well, so I didn't even bother signing in anymore. I think that they were surprised by the fact that I still visited him every day... even after over a year. I hadn't missed a day since he was placed here last January. The house was as beautifully decorated as it was landscaped as most of the residents expected to live the luxurious lifestyle. The stairs led up to an open foyer that allowed me to look down over the dining room. Residents were laughing at the tables, enjoying themselves as if they were in a restaurant. I supposed, that if circumstances were different, I would understand their enjoyment much more. This place was known for being the most luxurious home for the aging and disabled in the Pacific Northwest. It was very much like being in an all-inclusive resort. Residents here were able to enjoy shopping, physical activities, games, dancing and restaurant quality dining. At least that's what the pamphlet said. Charlie had yet to enjoy any of those things, but I still held out hope. It is why I had chosen Willowbrooke for him when the doctors at Harborview told me that it was just a matter of time.

His nurse, Jessica, had been telling me that there was a new doctor on staff and that he was world renowned for his work with brain trauma. I guessed that was the beautiful man that I saw walking towards his room from the opposite direction as I approached. I got closer and noticed that he was an older gentleman, probably a little bit older than Charlie, who was 46 on his last birthday. His hair was almost golden, which I'm sure hid any gray hair he might have had, but he carried himself well and was certainly quite attractive and fit for his age. I bet the nurses did swoon over this one - at least that's what Jessica had told me. Of course, I would see a beautiful man on the one day that I didn't put on any makeup or dress up. _Not that it matters at all Bella. You have enough on your plate. _Besides, I had seen enough of men to know that they are all nasty creatures. Some of them just do a better job hiding it. Not to mention, he was wearing a wedding ring.

"You must be the famous Dr. Cullen," I said as I extended my hand.

Taking my hand, he replied, "I am Dr. Cullen, but I am certainly not the famous one. You are probably talking about my son, Edward. And please, call me Carlisle."

I didn't think I would be able to call him Carlisle, I hadn't been on the friendliest of terms with Charlie's last doctor. He didn't do anything - I mean, I had done more research than he had - and I let him know that I thought he was a shit.

"So there are two of you?" I was a bit confused. Jessica had only told me about one new doctor.

Carlisle responded quite easily, "Actually, there are four of us... five most of the time. Our family is quite close, and we tend to move in packs. Some say it's weird, but it has worked for us. My son, is a neurologist, and I am a general practitioner. I came in today to check in on my favorite patient," he glanced at Charlie's door, "and to report any changes back to Edward."

Before I had a chance to speak, he continued, "My wife is a surgeon. She also specializes in brain trauma. I know it sounds weird, but we all felt like moving to Seattle would be great for us. We are from a small town, not to far from here. Forks. You may have heard of it?"

I think that I remembered one of the other nurses, Lauren, telling me that she was from Forks. I had gotten to know and love these nurses as if they were sisters. They were just as invested in my dad's recovery as I was, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I was amazed at how much information this doctor had already given me, and I hadn't even asked about my father yet. I just looked at him.

He chuckled a bit as he continued, "I'm sorry, I guess you didn't come here to hear the Cullen family story. I do want you to know that when Harborview offered Edward the job here, they spoke to him specifically about your father. It was his case that clenched the deal. You won't find a more dedicated group of doctors."

I could feel the tears well up before he even finished speaking. In the two minutes that I had known this man, I knew that I loved him. As much as I didn't want to feel the agony of defeat anymore, as hard as I tried I couldn't help but feel that little glimmer of hope after talking to this man. Willing the tears not to come, I smiled a shaky smile.

We had been standing in a small alcove outside Charlie's room. There were lovely antique chairs and tables for the residents and their visitors to sit in. Carlisle asked me if I needed to sit for a minute. He looked nothing but concerned and acted as if he had all the time in the world to sit around shooting the shit with me.

"I'm fine, thank you," came my automatic response.

"Well then," he held his hand out.

I just stared at it. I had no idea why he was holding his hand out to me. Taking my arm, he gently nudged me toward Charlie's room.

He continued as if I hadn't just looked at him like he was a complete freak, "Let's go see your dad."

Charlie was beginning to recover a bit from his coma in the hospital. He went from having absolutely no response to anything to having what's called a "generalized response." We could tell that he had awareness of the noises or any other stimulus around him because his heart rate would increase when I talked to him or there was a loud noise in the hallway. Sometimes you could see his eyelids flutter when a light was turned on or off. After two weeks of seeing no response, when the doctors informed me of this progress, I was elated. I just knew that it would be a matter of time before he just woke up and was my dad again. Sadly, in the year and five months since "the incident," as the police force that he had given everything he had, referred to it, his condition hadn't changed. The doctors had been able to remove the ventilator and some of the other machines that he was attached to, and at that point, they told me I needed to find a facility that specialized in the care of "patients like him." That's when I realized that my dad would never be the same.

I pored over pamphlets and scoured the internet until I found this place. I came and visited no more than 15 times before I decided that Willowbrooke was the place I wanted him to be at. It is expensive... way more than his meager insurance and savings cover, but Charlie will be at the best facility with the best staff in the state. I would have moved anywhere to make sure that he was well cared for, but luckily, I didn't have to. I have had absolutely no regrets since Charlie was moved here. His room is beautiful, overlooking the Harbor and exquisitely decorated in tasteful reds and yellows. I always feel warm when I'm here, and I know that Charlie feels it too. With the exception of his former doctor, who visited maybe once every two weeks, I have fallen in love with the staff here as well.

"What did Riley share about your dad's recovery?" Carlisle had lowered his voice as if he didn't want to wake up a sleeping patient.

I wanted to scream to find out if it would wake him up, but I had tried all of that, and it didn't work. It just made the staff at the hospital look at me like I was crazy and feel sorry for me. I looked at Carlisle blankly, "Riley?"

"Forgive me. Dr. Biers."

I almost felt guilty telling him this, "He didn't give me very much information. We didn't exactly see eye to eye on what should be done to help him, and I think Dr. Biers pretty much avoided me."

"Didn't see eye to eye?"

I figured if these Cullen people were going to be involved in my dad's case, I may as well go ahead and share, "Dr. Biers was a subscriber of the 'let's wait and see what happens' camp. Since brain scans have shown that he's not brain dead, I feel like there has to be something that can be done."

"Well Bella, I can tell you that there are many patients that show activity on a brain scan that spend their lives in a persistent vegetative state. I am not saying this to squash your hope, but I don't believe in giving false hope either. The fact that your dad was beginning to show some signs of recovery but stalled, is curious in and of itself."

"Are you telling me that you believe we should just wait and see too?" I could feel all of the hope that I had felt just a few minutes before draining out of my body.

"I'm not saying anything of the sort. You need to talk with Edward, my son, about his plans for treatment. I am here to make sure that your father is comfortable and being cared for. I will be here daily to make sure that his medical needs are being met. Edward may or may not come that often, but I can assure you that your father is in good hands. Please don't take my comments as a sign that I don't think there is some possible recovery."

I walked over to Charlie's bed, pulling my chair up. My visit today would have to be shortened a bit because of the number of things I still had to do compiled with the amount of time I spent speaking to Dr. Cullen, but he knew I was there. I know he did.

I thanked Carlisle as he left me alone with my dad. I told him of all of the things going on in the crazy world of Bella. I even told him about some of the disgusting pigs that had come into the club last night. I knew he wouldn't approve of what I was doing with my life, but he had raised me to take care of my obligations. At whatever cost, that's what I planned to do.

I could feel the tension of the afternoon fading as I pumped up the speed on the treadmill. I wasn't usually a treadmill kind of girl, preferring instead, to take a class or go for a run in the real world, but the rain had picked up outside, and I didn't have time for an hour long class if I wanted to get my strength training in as well.

"You better be careful," I heard a voice that wasn't at all familiar, "I don't want to have to do CPR when that thing spits you off the back."

Annoyed that once again, there was a man on the equipment that didn't think little ole me could take care of myself, I haughtily responded, "I'm sorry, do I know you? I don't remember asking you to do a damned thing."

I spared a glance over my shoulder at what I was sure would be some obnoxious beefcake with a huge grin. I was right. But damn, he was hot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Not offended... I just get annoyed by idiots that think girls come to the gym to be hit on."

"Ouch. Sorry."

Feeling a little bit guilty, since this guy didn't seem to be a creepy perv, I relented a little. "It's okay... I didn't mean that you were an idiot."

"I probably am an idiot. Aren't all men idiots when they meet a beautiful girl? I'm Emmett by the way."

I needed to get to the weights if I was going to get it all in, so I didn't want to continue this conversation. I ended it with, "Yes, all men are idiots. Sorry to run, but I need to finish my workout."

I turned the machine off and grabbed my water. I was so thankful that there weren't any people in the small room that I usually preferred to use for weights. I have learned that many people that spend a ton of time at the gym are there because they want to be seen by others. There are several circuits on the main floor of the gym where people can do just that. I prefer the small rooms that usually only host the people that are ashamed of their body and trying to do something about it. They don't usually want to be seen, and for the most part, they leave me alone. I finished my workout in peace and headed home to start my day.

"Bella," Alice whined. "We're going to be late. Come on!"

"Coming Tink!" I yelled as I pulled my sweats on. "You don't grow hair like an Amazon... you don't know what it's like to have to shave your body every day..."

I had been calling her Tink since I met her a little over a year ago. Alice and I worked together. Neither of us were anything like the other girls, and we both kind of stood out as freaks. When my other roommate, Rosalie, and I had a vacant room, I invited Alice to move in.

Our first roommate moved out to get married. Rose and I talked about not getting another roommate, but it made more sense economically. I could certainly afford to rent an apartment on my own now, but I loved my roomies (even if I did have to step between them to keep them from killing each other sometimes), and I had to remember my priorities.

The drive from our apartment to Aurora Avenue was about 45 minutes. Alice and I had managed to get our boss to give us the same schedule so that we could share a car and commute. Neither of us had ever considered moving closer to work. We may have worked there, but we certainly didn't want to live there. We took turns driving, and the rule was that the driver always got to pick the music. It was my turn to drive, so Alice was a little bit pouty, knowing that I was totally going to pick one of my folky/ rock CDs. She was right.

"Oh my God, Bella. I don't even like the Indigo Girls, and I know this CD by heart."

Amused by the fact that we had the same conversation every day on the way to work, I just cranked it up. Alice knew that she loved it too. She was singing along at the top of her lungs in no time.

This was how most of our commutes were spent. We didn't talk much on the way there, and we certainly didn't talk about work, but the time passed quickly. We hopped out of the car in the back parking lot of The Gentlemen's Club, that's what it was called ...really... and headed in the back door. Jake, the bouncer, was standing there with his big goofy grin. It was a little hard to believe that he could be dangerous to any human, but I had been witness to Jake using his size and strength. Jake's anger was not something that I ever wanted to be on the wrong side of.

"If it isn't my favorite ladies in this place."

"You only say that to me because you want to get in Bella's pants," Alice teased.

Jake grinned as he responded, "True. But even if you weren't Bella's friend, you would be one of my favorite people in this place. I just don't get it."

I was used to Jake and Alice talking about me like I wasn't there. It didn't seem to bother him in the least that I had turned him down every time he asked me out. And it didn't bother me that they talked about it so openly. It did, however, bother me when Jake would question why I worked here for a living.

Groaning I punched at Jake. "Not this again!" I pulled out my wallet and handed Jake the money that we were supposed to give him before we performed. House rules required that we pay the door bouncer a certain amount, depending on the night, each night before performing. We were also required to get a certain number of men to buy us a drink, again - depending on the night, before we could bank our earnings.

Pulling on Alice's arm, I reminded her that we were running late. We flew up the stairs to the dressing room to get in costume. Alice, of course, was a fairy. Her stage name was Tinkerbell. My costume was never quite so out there. I usually just wore some slutty lingerie with my fuck-me heels. Tonight's outfit was red. I hate these shoes, though.

Once I got into my outfit, I helped Alice put her glitter and enormous amounts of makeup on. I never understood why she used so much. Many of the other girls were really ugly under all that makeup, but Alice didn't need it. I think it made her feel like she was hiding herself though. I helped her put on her blond wig, and we clipped it so it wouldn't fall off. Because I was wearing the red teddy tonight, I didn't think I should use the red haired wig, so I went for long, straight and jet black. I put on my fake eyelashes, puckered up for some lipstick, and I was ready to go. I was third in the lineup of girls onstage tonight, so I had to rush out into the crowd in order to meet my quota of drinks. I had learned pretty quickly that if you don't meet your quota before you go onstage, you could lose a lot of money.

I quickly make my rounds stopping at the tables of the regulars I notice. These are guys that I know won't touch me and aren't too aggressive. Those are the tables I head for. Some of the girls make a lot more money than I do, but some of the girls are willing to do a lot more than I am in order to make that money. The bouncers know my rules - the men are not allowed to touch me. Period. If I am doing a lap dance, the men must keep their hands to themselves.

By the time I was up to dance, I had made my rounds of the crowd and my evening quota was met. I was so not in the mood to participate in the evening, so I pounded a few shots of Patron shortly after leaving the dressing room. It certainly helped my disposition. I always started my "dance" if you could call it that, considering I am the most uncoordinated person I know, from the left side of the stage. Many of the club patrons were extremely wealthy businessmen. I honed in on them first, knowing that I need more than 1 or even 5 dollar bills to keep Charlie at Willowbrooke.

A few more shots of Patron and several outfits later, I was finished for the night. And even better, I didn't have to work for three days. I couldn't complain about the almost 2 grand that I would be taking home this evening, but I have made more on a Friday night. The club wasn't as crowded as it would be in a month or two, with all of the vacation travelers.

Alice always made more than I did, but that was because she was so much better at working the crowd and selling drinks. I said a little thank you to the God that kept me safe from the creeps and allowed me to make enough money without having to go into any of the back rooms, and we headed back into the dressing room.

If any of the businessmen that had just given me hundreds of dollars had seen me after changing back into my sweats, I can assure you, they would ask for their money back. Bella Swan was certainly not Cinnamon, my spicey persona that kept the bills paid.

Rosalie Hale would be the first person to tell you she was not cut out for the same line of work. Without a doubt, some man would make a comment that she didn't like, and she would do something that would spark a riot. I loved her, but she could certainly piss people off. She was going to school to become an accountant, and she was paying her way by bartending at a club not far from where Alice and I were. Her boss had offered me a job with her on several occasions, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. At this point, though, I wanted to make more money while working fewer hours.

I wanted nothing more than to go home, take a shower and climb into my warm, comfy bed, but we had agreed to pick up Rose on our way home. Since her shift started later than Alice and I had to be at work, she rode with a guy from the bar. My feet were killing me from those damn shoes, so Alice ran in to get her while I waited in the car.

"This can not be a good sign," I mumbled aloud as Alice came right back out without our third partner in crime.

I rolled my window down so that I could hear Alice yelling as she trotted towards me. "Jane didn't show up again tonight. Rose is going to have to stay until they close."

I knew my roommate and oldest friend well enough to know that she wasn't happy about the situation either, so I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to give her any shit about having to hang out. "Guess we better put on our happy faces and get our asses in there," I grumbled. Let me tell you, I felt oh so sexy in my sweatpants and tank top.

"I'm gonna kill that bitch next time I see her," was Rose's first statement to us. "But I love you guys for putting up with this shit." We had sidled up to the bar as far away from all of the other college age kids as possible.

It didn't work. Within a few minutes, Alice and I both had drinks in front of us that we hadn't paid for and guys standing behind us like they owned us. Thankful for the drink but not in the mood to deal with the bullshit, I tried to fade into the wall next to me. That didn't work either.

The guy that approached me was easy on the eye, and he looked like he had never had to work for anything in his life. "You have got to be the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. What are you drinking?" I was really too tired for this shit tonight.

"I'm good thanks," I tried the nice way, but I could tell that cutie pie was just drunk enough to not notice I wasn't just playing hard to get.

"At least let me buy you a drink, baby. A girl that looks like you should certainly not have to buy her own drink. What can I get you?"

"Patron Margarita."

Rosalie put the drink down in front of me and prepared for the show. The crowd in the bar was dwindling, so she wasn't incredibly busy.

Alice started giggling a little, knowing what was more than likely to come. Cute boy's friend was trying really hard to get close enough to rub on her.

I tensed as the poor boy put his hands on my shoulder. "How's that drink, beautiful?"

I snapped.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me! Seriously, what kind of douche bag finds the girl in the corner that is wearing sweatpants and has her hair in a bun to hit on?"

He didn't get the message and tried to kiss my neck again. "Don't be like that baby."

I was not subtle. I elbowed back into his ribs, pushing him off of me. I then turned around and stood up. I was not a tall girl, nor was I very big, but apparently I was intimidating enough for drunk boy to back off. "If you try to kiss me again, I will find a way to cut your dick off with this cute little toothpick here." I turned toward my friend, "Rose, I think I need you to find a way to get this asshole off of me in the next thirty seconds. He obviously isn't smart enough to take the hint."

One of the bouncers appeared and informed my young friend that he needed to leave. Idiot's response was, "Please. She just asked me to buy her a $15 drink. Do you really think she doesn't want me around?"

I picked up the drink with every intention of throwing at him, glass and all. Embry, the bouncer (and one of Jake's best buddy's), saw it coming and told me not to waste a good drink. He picked idiot up and carried him out of the bar. It would have all been comical had I not been too tired to laugh.

Alice and I were able to spend the rest of the night in peace.


	2. A Day in the Life

A/N - These characters all belong to SM. I am just borrowing them.

Thanks for reading this story.

Chapter 2

EPOV

It was a pretty nasty afternoon in Seattle. _It's April for God's sake, it isn't supposed to be so hot!_ The misty rain seemed to just amplify the heat, causing sweat to run down my back and arms as I left the gym. Something made me look over my shoulder, and I noticed the big jeep before I saw Emmett getting out of it.

"You're a few minutes late, we could have spotted each other."

My brother, Emmett, had a grin that stopped people dead in their tracks. According to the ladies, Emmett has just the right amount of mischief in his smile. He and I looked almost nothing alike, and we certainly didn't act alike. I did my fair share of time in the gym, but I would never be able to work up to the size or strength of my brother. I also didn't share his desire to bed every cute girl that I met. Well... maybe I shared the desire, I just didn't share the lifestyle.

He reached in to pull his bag out of the Jeep. "Maybe I'm not late." He shrugged, "Maybe you're just early. Ever think of that?"

Emmett knew that I worked out during my lunch break and that I couldn't just come and go when I pleased. I opened the door of the Volvo and slid my bag into the back seat. Turning to look at him, I responded, "Did you just get out of your philosophy class?"

"How'd you know?" he grinned, "Hey, is Jasper coming into town this weekend?"

Jasper and I had been friends since first grade. He was like another brother to me, and Em loved him too. "I think so. He said he had a few loose ends to take care of, and then he would give me a call."

Jasper's parents had been killed in a car accident the previous year. Although he hadn't talked to his parents since he was seventeen, he was the only child, and he took responsibility for making sure that his parents' estate was cared for. It sucked for him even more because there was very little money left in the estate. Jasper, being who he is, had been bound and determined to give his parents a proper burial, despite the cost. My parents had offered to help with the finances, but he had refused. He had been working two, sometimes three, jobs at a time in order to pay off the funeral.

"When's he plan on moving out of that hell hole and joining us here?" Emmett was trying to sound noncommittal, but he couldn't wait for Jasper to move to Seattle either. Emmett and I shared an apartment not far from the gym. He was a physical therapist and worked mostly with athletes. We had a three bedroom apartment in anticipation of Jasper's pending arrival.

"As soon as he can," was my only reply. Jasper had told me that he was going to finish paying off the funeral and save some money so he could finish his Graduate Degree. He had been teaching Social Studies at Forks Middle School for several years. The fact that teachers didn't get paid nearly enough, combined with the expense of his parents' burial, meant that Jasper had to put all of his education plans aside so he could work more jobs. I knew that he was picking up his last paycheck from Newton's store tonight, and he was planning on finishing out his school year. After that, my hope was that he would move here to be with his "real" family.

I needed to get out of there if I was going to make it to the hospital and get out to Willowbrooke in time to see my newest patient. I was itching to get in and see him, but since the word 'Harborview' was written at the top of my paycheck, I knew I had to go there first.

"Well, have fun... Duty Calls."

"See ya later, Bro."

Bree, a little girl that had fallen off of her bike, was my first patient of the day. It was usually really difficult for me to stay in her room for very long because I could feel the fear and heartbreak radiating off of her mother. There was also so much tension in the room between Bree's mother and father that I had begun to think that if Bree stayed in her coma to hide from them, I wouldn't blame her.

"Good morning Mrs. Tanner," I spoke as cheerfully as I could muster.

She looked at me through teary eyes, "Good Morning."

There was an air of peace in the room which I attributed to the fact that Mr. Tanner wasn't around. I assumed that he had gone to work since he had been here every day for the past four.

I could tell just by touching her, that the intracranial swelling had gone down. Without wanting to give Mrs. Tanner too much hope, I wanted her to know that we would soon be slowly taking Bree off of the Pentobarbital that we had been using to keep her in the coma.

"I see definite improvement in the amount of swelling here." I pulled Mrs. Tanners fingers to the side of her daughter's head so that she was able to feel. "I would like to get a few more CT scans to assess the pressure that we may or may not be able to feel. If they come back as I expect them to, we will begin reducing the medicine that we have been using to keep her in a coma."

Stroking the side of her daughter's face that wasn't covered with bandages, she asked, "What does that mean. Is she going to recover? You know, I told her to put her helmet on," She said almost as an afterthought.

It was not the first time that I had parents or loved ones try to explain away the guilt they were feeling. My guess would be that the tension between Bree's parents had a lot to do with that guilt as well.

While filling out her chart, I informed Bree's mother that we really wouldn't know how extensive the damage was until Bree was completely removed from all of the barbiturates in her system. "Once we have established that there is no medical intervention causing a coma, we will be able to assess things a little more clearly. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer, but I just can't yet. I'm sorry."

She reached out and took my hand in hers. "You've been wonderful. Thank you."

Trying not to imagine what it must be like for a parent to sit with their child and not know whether they were going to live or die, I then headed over to the NICU to find that my premature little friend, Seth had not had a seizure in over twenty four hours. I chatted with his nurse for a little while to find out what other improvements the little guy had made over the past day and instructed her on exactly how I wanted the anticonvulsant to be weaned.

It isn't terribly uncommon for a baby that is born prematurely to have seizures, but in Seth's case, it took us quite a while, relatively speaking, to get them under control. As much as I wanted to get him off of any unnecessary medicine, I was a bit concerned about his seizures returning. As I was writing my notes in his chart, I was paged to the emergency room for a consult.

A thirty-three year old female, who was almost six months pregnant, had come in at the insistence of her OB's office. Their office was closed for the day, and the patient had been suffering from a disabling headache for more than twenty four hours. Although her blood pressure was checked when she came in, I checked it again to ensure that she wasn't suffering from blood pressure issues brought about by her pregnancy. Her blood pressure was fine, so I did a few more tests. I diagnosed her with a migraine, gave her some medicine that she could take, and sent her home. It was the kind of page from the emergency room that I don't mind taking.

After seeing a few more patients, I headed over to the office that I shared with my Dad. It was attached to the hospital but in a different facility. Office hours on Friday's are from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. Contrary to popular belief, we don't shut down at 12:30 on Fridays to go play golf. Friday afternoons were almost always spent getting caught up on charts or going to some sort of seminar regarding the latest research. Not to mention, I always tried to stay a little bit longer with my hospital patients on Friday afternoons, since I didn't usually see them over the weekend unless there was an emergency.

I was settling into my office with my mail when the phone rang. It was my mother wanting to know if Jasper was coming into town tonight and what time we would be there for dinner. If anyone loved Jasper more than I did, it was her. Sometimes I was convinced that she loved him more than she ever loved Emmett and I. She didn't like it when I said as much. That's when she would tell me that Em and I had no idea what it was like to grow up in a house like Jasper's. She was right.

We talked a little bit about some of the common patients we were seeing. She was truly excited to hear that Bree's swelling had gone down, and she was convinced that she would have a full recovery. Mom's eternal optimism was the reason that I very rarely let her talk to the loved ones of a patient. Brain injuries are always so iffy. The last thing that I want to do is give a family member false hope.

I told her about the rest of my morning with Seth and the other patients and also that I wanted to swing by Willowbrooke if at all possible before dinner. Mom had a thing about Friday night dinners. It was one of those things in which we were not allowed to be late. Period.

"Your dad went by there earlier today. He met Mr. Swan's daughter."

Sensing that there was something other than mere conversation going through her head, I prodded a bit. "And..."

"And he said that she was a strong girl that had high hopes for recovery," she continued, "From what he tells me, she doesn't seem to mind butting heads with the medical staff if she feels it's necessary."

Just what I need... Some smart-assed family member that doesn't have a clue what she's talking about telling me how to do my job. I made a mental note to find out what time Carlisle had run into her so that I could hope to avoid a meeting as well. Since she had already been there today, I felt pretty confident that I would be safe in going to visit. Wasting no time, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. The charts would still be there tomorrow morning.

_I know it's a short little chapter, but there will be more from Edward's point of view coming soon enough. _

_Enjoy!  
_


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